March 23, 2024 - Dense, concentrated, deep and dark. It's profile is more Bordeaux-style rather than the typical Napa Cab. A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest Malbec and Petit Verdot; it's dominated by Cabernet Franc flavors of herbaceous tobacco with blackberry and black currant. Still a huge wine but the tannins remain under control. Tremendous finish (30 - 45 sec), this is a 30-year wine. It's in a great place right now but will last for several more years.
January 6, 2024 - reticent nose, this was a little tired on opening and tasting a little lean and hollow after an hour or so, I thought it may have been an 'off' bottle - it filled dramatically after another hour and the last sip was undoubtedly the best - not sure but I'm inclined to leave my last few bottles for at least a couple of years
October 14, 2023 - I had this wine in 2020 and remarked that it could potentially score 95+ within five years. Well, I almost got there. We had it last night and it was still absolutely delicious but not quite a 95, which is what I consider the delineation between a very good wine and a globally elite bottle (and yes, I recognize this isn’t exactly nuclear precision). 5till exhibits a beautiful medium ruby red color. The nose is wonderful: I might have even guessed Bordeaux, with earthy, charcoal, forest floor elements present. But the palate brings you around to California, with dark red fruits framed by excellent sweet tannin. Still has room to go. Maybe 95 will happen! Drank decanted over three hours.
June 8, 2023 - Opened a magnum to toast my beloved father the day after he passed away, since it was a wine he loved. Aaaaand it was corked. There may be some cosmic meaning there, but I can't really put my finger on it. I guess it's that corks suck as a wine closure
May 19, 2023 - Beautiful wine. PnP and then drank over two hours, and then what was left the next day and it was still going strong. Cork in good shape. This bottle has more time if you can hold off.
May 15, 2023 - 1 hour decant. Nose of red cherries and red currants with earthy aromas and white pepper. Palate of black currant, red licorice and drier black raspberry fruit paired with cigar box and cedar. It flows smoothly into a finish of full-boded tannins, red fruit, gingerbread, and oak. Very balanced, with plenty of life ahead. Fnished ahead of the 2001 Rauzan-Segela we drank at the same time.
April 9, 2023 - this was good but not up to the standard I have for this bottling (at least the bottling from the 70's thru the 90's)... a little lean and the acidity (which I generally love) was a tiny bit harsh... does this simply need another 5-7 years... not sure... hmmm... maybe an off bottle??... NR given my uncertainty on that but this would have been 90-91'ish if I had rated
January 15, 2023 - No notes taken. From a double magnum. This showed great as it has already reached a good level of maturity. The baby fat is gone, the wine has fleshed out and what remains is an elegant, fine Napa Cab with a level of ripeness that is well in check, lots of earthy/herbal/mineral notes creating a good balance, all embedded in a fine structural frame. At least from large formats this should improve further over the next two+ decades.
January 2, 2023 - Decanted 2 hr. Drinks really well. Wine continues to develop over the next few hours. Black cherry fruit flavors.
December 26, 2022 - Opened and decanted for sediment at 1:30pm as this one threw off a good amount of sediment left behind in the bottle. Drank the last glass at 9pm and drank throughout the day and evening to check its progress. This one drank the best to me around the 4-5pm hour so that puts it at about a 2.5-3.5 hour decant to show its best.
On the nose, it was moderately tertiary from just about the get-go as I think this one is on its last legs and I wouldn't sit on it for more than perhaps a year or two. On the nose, I get scents of tar, graphite, leather, cedar, eucalyptus, and menthol. On the palate, lovely flavors of blackberries, chocolate, tobacco leaf, licorice, and minerals. Again, a lovely wine and wish I had another to lay down for just a little while longer.